How to Format Your Research Paper

This table describes how to format your research paper using either the MLA or APA guidelines. Be sure to follow any additional instructions that your teacher provides.

Paper Page Margins Font Spacing

MLA Guidelines Standard size (8.5 x 11" in the U.S.) 1" on all sides (top, bottom, left, right) 12-pt. easily readable (e.g., Times Roman) Double-spaced throughout, including captions and bibliography

APA Guidelines 1" on all sides (top, bottom, left, right) 12-pt. Times Roman or Courier. For figures, however, use a sans serif font such as Arial. Double-spaced

Alignment of Flush left (with an uneven right margin) Flush left (with an uneven right margin) Text Paragraph 1/2" (or five spaces) 57 spaces Indentation End of Leave one space after a period unless your teacher Leave one space after a period unless your teacher Sentence prefers two. prefers two. On every page (except Figures), in the upper right margin, 1/2" from the top and flush with the right On every page, in the upper right margin, 1/2" Page margin, two or three words of the paper title (this is from the top and flush with the right margin put Numbers called the running head) appear five spaces to the your last name followed by the page number. left of the page number, beginning with the title page. The title page is always the first page. Only if your teacher requests one. Instead, on the first page, upper left corner place on separate On the line below the page number, the running lines, double-spaced: head is typed flush left (all uppercase) following the words "Running head:" Your name Teacher's name Title Page Below the running head, the following are centered Course name or number on their own lines, using upper and lower case: Date Underneath, center the title using regular title capitalization rules and no underline. Start the report immediately below the title. Section Headings

Paper title Your name Your school

Top level headings should be centered on the page, using upper and lower case. Second level headings should be flush left,

italicized, using upper and lower case. Place tables and illustrations as close as possible Unless your teacher tells you otherwise, tables and to the text they refer to. illustrations appear at the end of the paper. A table is labeled Table and given a number (e.g., Table 1). The table label and caption or title appear above the table, capitalized like a title, flush left. Sources and notes appear below the table, flush left. Each table begins on a separate page with the label Table 1 (etc.) typed flush left on the first line below the page number. Double-space and type the table title flush left (italicized using uppercase and lowercase letters).

Tables & Illustrations

Photos, graphs, charts or diagrams should be Figures Captions appear on the last numbered page labeled Figure (usually abbreviate Fig.), and of the paper. In this case the label Figure 1 (etc.) is assigned a number (e.g., Fig. 1). The label, title, italicized and the caption itself is not. The caption and source (if any) appear underneath the figure, uses regular sentence capitalization. The figures flush left, in a continuous block of text rather than themselves follow, one per page. one element per line. Each of these sections (if present) begins on a new page:

Order of Major Sections

Title page Abstract Body References Appendixes Footnotes Tables Figure Captions Figures

Most teachers prefer a simple paper clip or staple. Follow your teacher's request. Additional Purdue University Online Writing Lab (OWL) - Purdue University Online Writing Lab (OWL) APA Style Guide Information MLA Style Guide Binding

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